Theodore Levitt

The product life cycle

Stage 1 : Market Development
Stage 2 : Market Growth Stage 3 : Maturity

Stage 4 : Decline

Preplanning Importance.
1. One of the greatest values of the life cycle concept is for managers about to launch a new product. 2. The first step for them is to try to foresee the profile of the proposed product cycle. 3. It is difficult to predict and foresee the slope and duration of a products life. 4. One has to spend time in attempting this kind of foresight. 5. Strategic and tactical moves once the product is brought to market.

Failure Possibilities.
1. Newness of the product.
2. Becomes difficult for innovators. 3. Complexity of the product. 4. Buying decisions.

Success Chances.
Newer product creates special visibility. Favorable or unfavorable first experience. Pricing decisions. (Degree of patent protection,

innovators estimate of the length of the PLC, elasticity in demand during the early life of the product). More producers of a new product, more effort goes into developing a market for it.

Originators Burden
Competitive Pressure Profit Squeeze

Stage Recognition

Sequential actions
This Article describes the concept of early Product Planning

through the later stages of keeping the Product Profitability alive.

Planning In Advance of the actual launching of a new product

to take specific actions later in life cycle.

Actions designed to sustain Product Growth and Profitability

which appears to have great potential as an instrument of longterm Product strategy.

NYLONS LIFE CYCLE & DU PONT STRATEGIES

Nylons uses were primarily militaly- parachutes, threads,ropes.

Followed by Nylons entry into the circular Knit Market & its domination of Womens Hosiery business. It developed Rising Growth & Profit Curves, but before the curves flattened DU PONT stepped in and took certain actions to push Hosiery sales upwards. They applied Different Strategies like : Promoting more frequent usage of the product among current users. Developing more varied usage of product among current users. Creating new users for the product by expanding the market. Finding New uses for the basic material.

Extension Strategies
1. It generates an active rather than a reactive product policy. 2. It lays out a long-term plan designed to infuse new life into the product at the right time, with the right degree of care, and with the right amount of effort.
3. It forces a company to adopt a wider view of the nature of the product it is dealing with.

Conclusion
Predictions. probable length
Next stage Position for long term. ad accordingly.

Originator shouldnt delay long term planning.

Prevent trying to do many things at once.